Cincinnati Bengals Vs Pittsburgh Steelers: 2015 NFL Wild Card Round: Prediction/ Breakdown
Keys to victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers
In order for the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, they should focus on intermediate to deep and/or long passing plays. This is because the Cincinnati Bengals love to put one or two of their outside cornerbacks in press coverage with a safety over the top in case the wide receiver gets past the cornerback. As a result of this, opposing wide receivers can get a step or two in front or away from the cornerback as he is turning his body around. Since the Bengals like to put one or two of their outside cornerbacks in press coverage the Steelers should design pass plays that include fade, streak and slant routes. Most of these routes allow Ben Roethlisberger to release the ball quickly and take advantage of the five to ten yard window where the wide receiver may be open to catch the ball before the safety or linebacker can get there and break up the pass.
Keys to victory for the Cincinnati Bengals
In order for the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, they should feature a heavy dose of the running game to keep the high powered Steelers offense off the field as much as possible. While this strategy may cause the Bengals offense to have setbacks from time to time since the Steelers defense only allow 3.8 per carry. The Bengals have to keep in mind that if they abandon this strategy they risk giving the Steelers extra possessions because if AJ McCarron passes the ball two to three times per every four downs. There is a high possibility that the Bengals offense won't be able to stay on the field for as long as they had hoped for because every time AJ throws an incompletion the clock stops. On the other hand, if they run the ball the clock will keep running even if they do not gain any yards on a certain play.
Even though the Cincinnati Bengals only average 3.9 yards a carry on the ground which ranks 23rd in the NFL one would assume that the Cincinnati Bengals will use this as a way to control how much time the Steelers offense spends on the field and how many points they can put on the board.
Winner: Cincinnati Bengals
